1. Field
Subject matter disclosed herein relates to techniques to evaluate blood glucose sensors.
2. Information
The pancreas of a normal healthy person produces and releases insulin into the blood stream in response to elevated blood plasma glucose levels. Beta cells (β-cells), which reside in the pancreas, produce and secrete insulin into the blood stream as it is needed. If β-cells become incapacitated or die, which is a condition known as Type 1 diabetes mellitus (or in some cases, if β-cells produce insufficient quantities of insulin, a condition known as Type 2 diabetes), then insulin may be provided to a body from another source to maintain life or health.
Traditionally, because insulin cannot be taken orally, insulin has been injected with a syringe. More recently, the use of infusion pump therapy has been increasing in a number of medical situations, including for delivering insulin to diabetic individuals. For example, external infusion pumps may be worn on a belt, in a pocket, or the like, and they can deliver insulin into a body via an infusion tube with a percutaneous needle or a cannula placed in subcutaneous tissue.
To determine an appropriate therapy for treating a patient's diabetic conditions, a blood glucose concentration is typically measured using one or more techniques such as, for example, metered blood glucose sample measurements (e.g. using finger sticks) or continuous glucose monitoring from processing signals generated by a blood glucose sensor inserted into subcutaneous tissue. Today, there are few effective techniques for evaluating the performance of blood glucose sensors used in a single patient or multiple patients under different glycemic conditions.